Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Berseria, its content, or characters.
Mmmm, that smells sooooo good, thought a sleepy Velvet. The smell of sauteeing prickleboar tickled Velvet's nose and drove her mind out of the fog of sleep. Her eyes fluttered open when she realized that it was odd to be smelling such goodness as they weren't staying in a town inn - the group had camped out in the Davahl forest after training. They didn't have a stove or even a pan to cook the boar on. Was someone spitfire cooking?
When Velvet fully woke, she fell out of bed when she jolted with the recognition of where she was. She was in her old home in Aball, in the upstairs loft. She quickly looked to her right hand. Its still bandaged, she thought. She unwrapped it just enough to see the black skin of her daemon arm underneath. Well, this isn't a memory. She looked around. There used to be a lot of storage items up here - mostly Arthur's or Celica's things - but they weren't here now. There was a bed, with new black sheets, and a small table with a long katana-style sword resting across it. On the wooden chair at the table, a purple kimono was draped.
As Velvet tried to process everything's wrongness, someone started whistling from below a carefree tune. Velvet pushed back the covers and noted that she was dressed in long black leggings and a sleeveless red tunic-style top with black embroidery across the hems. Another wrongness. As she stepped onto the creaky wood floor and crossed to the ladder, she found her black jacket hanging from a hook that wasn't there before. She gladly grabbed it and put it on, feeling more secure when she had it on.
She cautiouly descended the later and turned toward the kitchen, prepared to fight if necessary. This definitely wasn't a memory. Arthur wasn't here, nor was Celica or her kid brother Laphicet. But Rokurou Rangetsu was. He was whistling while stirring some Prickleboar sausage in a pan. He didn't have his kimono on, down to his black long-sleeved shirt and purple and yellow trimmed chest guard. She could see the black daemon mark wrapping its way down his neck. Despite the oddness of this scene, that was definitely Rokurou. He didnt have a wrongness about him.
"Oh, you're up. Breakfast's almost ready. Can you call Laphicet in from outside? He's playing with Kamoana and some of the other kids. He shouldn't be far," Rokurou said. Velvet crossed her eyebrows in confusion. "Oh that's right," Rokurou crossed the distance between them and kissed Velvet sweetly on the mouth, "Good morning. I forgot to say that, didn't I?". He clearly mistook her confusion for expectant waiting. She was baffled. She touched her lips, which still tingled with Rokurou's touch, and mentally lost it.
What the hell is happening?! Rokurou just kissed me! And not in a new, confessing-his-love sort of way. He kissed her in that comfortable sort of way. Like Celica and Arthur used to kiss everytime they were coming or going from the other. That was a sweet, I-Love-You way. She could maybe handle an emotion-less, attraction-based Let's-Do-This kiss. But that couple kiss was too much for her brain to handle. Did I do something to lead him on? Did I miss something? Am I in a dream arte again?! Velvet searched her head for answers but she couldn't find any.
Velvet decided in the absence of answers, she'd do as Rokurou asked. She might need to play along to figure out what was happening. She turned towards the door and opened it, letting the light stream into her house. She immediately noticed the graves of Celica and the baby. They were still there and were even freshly flowered and cleaned. "Laphicet!", Velvet called down the quiet trail towards town. She was unsure if she was calling for Phi or her kid brother but she new if her brother showed up, a dream arte was the only explanation.
A few minutes later, Phi rounded the corner with Kamoana, with her lime green hair and horns bouncing as she ran. Behind her, three more children, roughly between the ages of 10 and 13, followed. One was a Malak - a little girl with fair skin, dressed in blue Malak robes with silver hair with blue tips. Another was a daemon boy with orange hair and fox ears, a fox tail, and red swirl markings across his face and arms. The third was another girl, a devil-style deamon with purply-black hair and silver and black skin. A devil tail popped out from under her skirt and wings protruded from her shoulders.
Velvet was terribly confused at the sight of this ragtag group of children. They shouldn't be coexisting, nevermind playing and laughing with each other. Phi looked happily at Velvet, his golden hair and white robes reflecting the sunlight. "You called?", he asked. "Yeah, Rokurou says breakfast is almost ready. Come on in", Velvet said with only a slight crack in her voice making her acting less convincing. Phi didn't notice. "Okay, see you later Kamoana, Artia, Sergio, and Latuana.", he said as he waved goodbye to his friends. He bounced up the steps and through the door.
Velvet stepped off the porch towards the kids. "Where do you guys live?" she asked the group. Kamoana laughed at Velvet. "What'd ya do, Velvet? Bonk your head?", she asked. "We all live in town, of course.", answered the little boy. "Can you send Laphicet back out later to play more?", asked the Malak girl. "Sure", Velvet said before turning around and heading back into the house. She couldn't help but be baffled at the thought of Aball being full of daemons and Malakhim, living life like humans.
By the time Velvet walked back into the house, Phi and Rokurou were already sitting down at the table eating platefuls of Prickleboar sausage and some form of eggs. There was a plate setting filled with food and an empty chair. They clearly expected her to join them. Well at least this way I can tell if everything still tastes like blood or not. Velvet remembered that she only broke the last dream arte when she realized she could taste food, a fact that proved her reality was warped. She sat down across from Rokurou and tried eating some sausage. It tasted metallic - like blood. Velvet put down her fork, disappointed. Either the illusions got better, which would make them harder to break, or this was no illusion. Velvet slumped in her chair, unsure of what to do next.
"You don't have to eat, Velvet. I know you don't need to. I know you just do it for me. We can still have family meals if you don't eat, you know." Phi said, knowingly. Velvet honed in on the word "family" and froze. Her and Rokurou and Phi were family?! Was it just them here? Where was everyone else? Why was she still with Rokurou and Phi if everyone else was gone?! What was even happening with Rokurou and her?! The questions circled her head. "Thanks, Phi.", she said stiffly. Rokurou looked at her quizzically before returning to his breakfast.
After breakfast, Phi returned to his friends outside. Rokurou put the dishes in the sink and cleaned the table. Then he turned his attention to Velvet. He gently swept the hair out of her face and cupped her cheek.
"Are you feeling okay? You seem off.", said Rokurou, concerned. You're the one who seems off!, Velvet thought. "Yeah, I'm just tired. I had a really funky dream last night.", Velvet said to maintain her cover. He looked at her unconvinced for a moment. "Well, alright.", he said. "Are you feeling up for taking on some jobs? We could use some gald for some new equipment." "Jobs?", Velvet asked. "Yeah, the Bloodwings are back in town for us. They have some more daemons that the common folk need taken care of. But if you're not feeling up to it...", Rokurou trailed off. "No, I'm good. I'm definitely feeling up to some jobs!" Velvet replied eagerly. She craved the normalcy of battle.
Rokurou nodded before standing up, giving Velvet a long, hot kiss, and then moving upstairs to dress for travel. Velvet turned around and started blindly searching through chests, in hopes she would find her armor and blades. In the third chest, she had success. She affixed her armor over her odd outfit and finally started to feel like she could actually do what she was next about to do.
Velvet and Rokurou walked to the merchant in town, a different guy than the one she grew up knowing. She noted that none of the old residents of Aball were here, so it wasn't likely a memory illusion. The residents of Aball now were all misfits - higher-level daemons, Malakhim, perhaps even some human outcasts, like pirates and petty-thieves. Outside the merchant's house, stood a Bloodwing member, identifiable by the red handkerchief tied around their arm. The Bloodwing gave them a list of daemons the humans were willing to pay for to get rid of. He explained that all these daemons were in Midgand and offered to give Velvet and Rokurou a ride to the other continent. They gladly accepted.
Once in Midgand, Velvet and Rokurou began crossing daemons off the list, killing them one by one. Velvet felt free again on the battlefield. She was relieved to find out that one thing that didn't change between her and Rokurou was their teamwork in battle. Theh had always been exceptional at communicating without ever uttering a word during a fight. She would kick out with her boot knife and he would duck and swerve to ensure she made contact with the daemon and not him. During battles she could almost forget the wrongness of everything lately.
It was in between the battles when things got weird again. Rokurou would grab her hand or peck her on the cheek or play with a loose strand of hair. He was so baffeling to her. How could he do these things so easily? It was as if it was his millionth time doing them. But how could that be? How could they be together?!
They were complete opposites, Velvet thought. Rokurou's carefree attitude made Velvet seem deathly serious all the time. His flirtatious demeanor made her seem cold and unloving towards other. He was fire and she was ice. Nothing good could come from us being together, she thought.
Despite this, Velvet couldn't help but enjoy seeing Rokurou's romantic side. He was surprisingly serious when it came to her. He was rather honest with her about his feelings. He didn't jest about her any more. Any flirtation was done lovingly, not just out of pure desire. She began to feel him changing her opinion about him and about them.
As the sun started descending in the sky, Rokurou and Velvet made their way back to the Bloodwing in port, gathered their gald, and head back for Aball. As they walked back to Aball from the port town, Tallesin, Velvet finally asked Rokurou the question that has been burning her up inside. "Rokurou, why do you like me?" He laughed at first but soon realized that she was waiting for an answer. "I don't just like you Velvet, I love you. And as I told you after you killed Artorious, I have the utmost respect for you. With everything you've been through, you should hate others. You should of distrusted me and Magilou and everyone else and left us to journey alone. But you, despite have an ice queen reputation, constantly give people a chance to change, to get better. I have always loved that. But mostly, I love you because of the little things. They're so numerous I can't even begin to list them off."
Velvet's heart ached at his answer. He was so earnest she could no longer suspect this to be some big act or joke. She wished for a moment that she was truly his Velvet, the one that knew how they had gotten there and loved him all the more for it. She wished this could be real.
Velvet grabbed Rokurou by the kimono and kissed him vigorously. She had not been searching for love, or even a friend, when she met him. Yet that's clearly what she found. Rokurou caressed her face and neck, matching her intensity with his own. They kissed until they could no longer breathe and then they kissed just a little longer. They were gasping when they broke apart.
"Let's get home to Laphicet. Poor boy's gonna starve if we don't.", Rokurou said. "But-", Velvet objected. She suddenly felt as if she'd never have this opportunity again. That thought made her regret ever taking her lips off of his. "Velvet, we have all the time in the world. Don't worry so much.", Rokurou said, reading her mind. Velvet nodded and put her hand in his as they restarted their journey home.
Just before nightfall, they made it back to the house. Laphicet was waiting at the table, nose in a book, when they walked in. He happily greeted them and asked Velvet to make him some stew. Velvet happily agreed. As she cooked, Laphicet excitedly tried to teach Rokurou how to read the old book. Rokurou clearly wasn't that good at it but he hung in for Phi's sake. After eating, Phi continued their lessons until he fell asleep onto the book. Rokurou affectionately picked him up, put him to bed, and ruffled his hair.
Velvet wanted to stay up and spend more alone time with Rokurou but her eyes too began to drift. Rokurou lead her to the ladder, she climbed up, and they began stripping layers of armor and weapons. She climbed into bed, growing more tired by the second. Rokurou followed suit, snuggling behind her and affectionately kissing her ear before whispering goodnight. She fell asleep with a small smile on her lips.
The next morning, Velvet awoke to Eizen and Rokurou arguing over the best type of beetle. Elanor was wrapping her blanket up, Magilou was practicing her artes on poor Bienfu, and Laphicet was feeding his pet beetle. She sat up and looked around to see that they were camped out in a forest. This didn't seem right but she couldn't imagine why.
Suddenly, Velvet was rushed with memories of her little family in her house in Aball. What is everyone else doing here? Why aren't we home? Velvet got up clumsily and grabbed Rokurou's arm, desperate for answers. "Rokurou", she said breathlessly. Rokurou turned to her, surprised and uncertain. It's not him, she thought. That's not the way my Rokurou looks at me.
"Whoa, Velvet. You feeling alright? You're acting odd.", Rokurou said while shaking her off his arm. She felt an overwhelming sense of deja vu. "You better take care of yourself, Velvet. If you don't, you won't live long enough to take down Artorious.", Rokurou added. But wait, isn't he already dead?!
She's been here before - so certain that everything around her was wrong. It was a dream, she realized. She dreamt of a life after Artorious. A life where she had a family, a town, a lover. A life where she could live back in that house without the old memories tearing her to pieces. A life of simplicity. A life of fulfillment. A life with Rokurou.
Suddenly, Velvet felt the weight of loss crush her. She mourned that life. She mourned her love. She was far too familiar with mourning but here she was doing it again. She staggered away from the group and although they called after her, no one followed. She walked far away before collapsing down and screaming a gut-wrenching scream. All her loss hit her at once and she couldn't live with it anymore.
Velvet cried in a way she hadn't cried since Celica died. She had found something new to live for but she couldn't have it. It was infuriating and depressing. She never realized how much she wanted to live even after Artorious was gone. She knew that it wasn't out of a pure love of life. No, she just had a new goal. A personal goal. She wanted to make that dream a reality.
Finally she calmed. She took a few deep breaths and was about to return to the group when she heard something. "-et... -elvet...Velvet!", called Rokurou from a distance. Velvet braced herself. I have to do this, she thought.